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A Celtics Trade Primer….And Why Making A Deal Won’t Be Easy

With the trade deadline just ten days away and pieces of the C’s roster dropping like flies, the time of year has come to take an honest and realistic assessment of the trade market as it relates to the Boston Celtics. On the surface, Danny Ainge has insisted he likes his 15-man roster from top to bottom, making any theoretical trade tough to consider. However, the latest string of injuries may force Ainge to have a change of heart in this department.

The main problem is obviously all the injuries, but the injury bug is particularly daunting at the small forward spot, where the C’s were low on depth in the first place. Paul Pierce is scheduled for an MRI today on his injured left foot, and he’s also battling a sprained right hand he suffered Saturday at practice.

Combine that with this not so encouraging update from Doc Rivers on Marquis Daniels yesterday, and it’s clear we have a problem.

“I know they’re doing the test next week. I don’t even know what day and I know they haven’t even found the doctors yet — which doctors are going to do it. i would tell you this: I wouldn’t anticipate Marquis coming back any time soon.”

That sounds like a guy who likely is done for the year. Whether Marquis is planning a return this season or not, it’s safe the say the team should assume that it can’t and shouldn’t count on getting much out of him if he does manage to return from such a serious injury.

There’s no doubt Daniels wants to help the team here, but you have to take into account his situation. He’s on a one-year deal for 2.3 million. If you’re advising Daniels though, can you honestly tell him to rush himself back from such a serious injury, at the risk of further damage that could keep him sidelined into next season, while costing him his next contract? It’s a risky scenario for Daniels, and while his value will go up if he returns and plays well, that’s a lot to expect out of the guy.

In lieu of Daniels’ absence, Paul Pierce’s playing time has picked up, with the captain spending 40 plus minutes on the floor during five of the past seven games. And on the heels of his 0-for-10 stinker and the revelation of injury woes looming for the The Truth, those minutes can’t continue either.

Von Wafer has played well, but he’s more of a two than a three. Delonte West will also be back Wednesday and is capable of guarding three’s, but the C’s clearly could use more size and depth at the position, which brings us to the trade market, one of the options the C’s have moving forward to upgrade this team.

Before we discuss the names though, it’s important to keep in mind all the factors in play regarding the team’s finances, cap situation and future contracts. To start then, we’ll take a look at the team’s salary situation for this and next year.

2010-11 Celtics Salaries: 77.7 million.

With that number, the C’s are currently paying 14.9 million dollars in luxury tax, which is the fourth highest number in the league.

Ironically, the Cavs are just ahead of the C’s in this department, paying over 15 million in luxury tax this year. No wonder Dan Gilbert was so bitter when LeBron left. Now let’s take a look at next year’s salary picture.

2011-12 Celtics Salaries: 71.8 million to 10 players (Assuming Ray Allen and Shaquille O’Neal pick up their player options which is likely)

It matters for a lot of reasons. First off, that 71 million dollar figure for next year is a lot of money committed for just ten guys. Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis are also awaiting big raises as unrestricted free agents in search of their first big days.

You also will probably have noticed that several other crucial parts of the team’s bench rotation (Delonte West, Von Wafer, Marquis Daniels) are also free agents.Then when you factor in an uncertain future regarding a salary cap rules and the CBA, and you have a bit of problem on your hands if you’re Ainge. So having ten players signed is nice, but there will be plenty of important holes to fill entering this year, with limited money to fill in the gaps.

So how does this relate to any potential trades for this year? It’s quite simple really. You can’t expect Ainge to take on any more money for next year, unless he is dumping some salary of his own. Wyc Grousbeck and company have spent plenty of dough on this team, but they are also not the Yankees, with endless amounts of money coming out of their pockets. There is a budget here and Ainge has to work within those limitations.

So are there guys that may be available that the C’s would love to pick up without having to give up anything of significance in return? Absolutely. Is it reasonable to think the Celtics can take on any more money for next year, and expect to re-sign key players like Kendrick Perkins and Big Baby to long-term deals while also filling in rest of the rotation adequately enough to remain a contender? No, no it’s not.

Mortgaging the future to enhance the chance to win now won’t happen. If we’ve learned anything from Ainge in his seven years on the job, it’s that he always has an eye looking ahead and likes to keep his options flexible. Taking on a bad contract can’t and won’t happen.

So then, what we are left with? In an all too familiar scenario, the C’s looking at expiring contracts in the trade market. And yet again, Ainge has very limited assets to acquire any potential candidates if he wants to keep his core intact, something Boston fans should count on if this team wants to win a championship.

It’s something they’ve done the past three years, in varying degrees of significance. In 2008 and 2009, it was buyout signings with Sam Cassell, Stephon Marbury, and P.J. Brown. Last year, it was a trade for Nate Robinson in exchange for Eddie House, Bill Walker and J.R. Giddens.

This year, the need is clear. A body capable of taking minutes at the two/three spots, playing solid defense and spacing the floor. We’ll be taking a closer look at the C’s options in this department moving forward this week, along with the C’s assets but for now we know what kind of tricky situation Ainge is dealing with and why making any trade isn’t as easy as it looks.

Brian Robb

Brian Robb co-founded CelticsHub in 2009 and is the currently editor-in-chief. He is a producer and reporter at 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston and also contributes to Boston.com and Bleacher Report among other outlets.

Sigh this team is the best in the NBA….when healthy
Too bad they aren't
I think we really have to look at the Rockets
They have TONS of swingmen that there aren't enough minute for
And i think everyone of their team is available
So….yeah
I really like Chase Budinger

John V

Some of the best guys the Celts should pursue are on expiring deals anyway. Battier, Prince… another name I was thinking of that I haven't heard much about is Kirilenko. It's tough because he makes so much money… the Cs would have to send almost their entire bench. But it technically could work. If they send Jermaine, Robinson, Daniels, Bradley and Harangody, the Trade Machine says the numbers come close enough. The Jazz seem to be currently carrying 13 players, so they would have to cut two of them first, in order to do a 1-for-5 trade.

I was also playing with the possibility of involving Atlanta, having them get Nate and also Al Jefferson, with the Jazz getting Marvin Williams and some other spare parts. Of course, I have absolutely no idea what Atlanta wants.

The trade I was looking at would pretty clearly make the Jazz weaker for this season, but it could save them a few million dollars this year, and give them at least one interesting young player in Bradley. If we gave them some cash and a draft pick, who knows? They would likely reach a buyout with Daniels, saving them some more money and giving us the chance to re-sign him after 30 days.

Houston have said they would never trade Battier, he's in a similar situation to Grant Hill is in Phoenix, happy and settled there and is playing the mature vet teaching the younger guys whilst still contributing meaningful minutes. And on top of that I don't think its realistic to just kill our bench (the best in the league when at full strength) for one player, because then we'll just have depth issues everywhere else!

John V

Hmm, ok, I thought a recent ESPN column had listed Battier as someone likely to be traded, but it makes sense that Houston would want to keep him.

As for trading many for few (or one), I think it can definitely be worth it… especially in the case where the other team acquires Daniels, and then reaches a buyout with him. I'm not expecting to get anything out of Bradley or Harangody this season. If Sheed decides to come back, he is better than what we can expect from Jermaine. So then, it becomes Nate Robinson for Andrei Kirilenko. : )

It mortgages the future a little bit, but I definitely think it'd be worth it.

keltic

absolutely 0 interest in Kirilenko…what does he really bring to the table? guy is lazy and his best years are behind him…he's pretty old too at 30…id be shocked if danny went after a guy like him

Yeah, AK gives us nothing, he used to be a wonder at 3 because of his size but not he's too old and slow to play 3, and he's too short to play 4 (which we don't need anyway). I dont think he would work anywhere outside of Utah where they're got players to work with him etc.
We need a wing (2/3), not a Forward (3/4)and besides that there's nothing to suggest the Jazz are trying to move players.
Jermaine isn't going to get a buyout because he's not on a minimum contract, his trade value is 0 and we dont have any other pieces (more want draft picks) to send with him to make a team interested in him or buying him out.
To be honest I think Sheed would be more of a negative to our team than no JO is, you saw our attitude last year, I'm pretty sure he was a large reason behind that. He's going to be even less in shape if we pick him up now, and even thought he put effort in the playoffs, he was basically a cancer until then so I just don't think its worth it. He's as limited as JO is, but at least Jermaine can still get up a block shots, we never had that with Sheed and I think thats why we'll stick with JO.

Banner18

Battier would be perfect- a strong, defensive minded 3 who enjoys the challenge of guarding Kobe and Lebron. I've also seen him take and make pressure shots, though I don't know his FG %.

If Semih can't come back soon, we're also going to need a durable big, who can rebound a play D. I hate to see Perk having to play so many minutes on his reconstructed knee.

Battier would be a great fit, but we have nothing the Rockets want and they've said they're not interested in trading him (and I'm sure he's fine with that).
Semih wont get traded just because he's on a rookie minimum contract (something like 800k) so there's very little we can get in return for him, and in all honesty he's worth 800k to us just sitting on the bench once or playing 5mpg he gets back from this last blip. He's got a few nagging injuries but that wasn't helped by him starting and playing games whilst he was injured, so now we've got a bit more depth at 5 he can rest and go back to being our third string 5 which is all we need him to be. Teams might be interested in him (although I dont think they are) but we're not going to get a player of equal value for 800k, and it's not worth trading anyone else to get another big because we don't really need it.

Obviously subject to a thorough look at Livingston and his recovery, but so far this year he's having a huge season, and him and Henderson thoroughly dominated the Celtics the other night (and he had a 22pt game a couple od days ago too) and slowed clear flashes of the player he could be.
Having a taller, more consistant (than our current backup PG) jump shooting point guard would be an excelled backup to Rondo, getting rid of Nate and his inconsistencies (his one shot last night against the Heat alone was worth trading him, a pull up 3 (brick) on a fast break with one Celtic running on each side of him).
I haven't read too much on the throw in, McGuire but at the very least he is a (cheap) body (6'8') at the wing and the one season he got any meaningful minutes ('07 at Washington) he shot .432 from the field, which isn't bad my any means. Doc and Boston have proven they can turn dedicated athletic players into great defenders, so I don't see why we couldn't do the same here with McGuire.
It would be a shame to get rid of Luke, but lets face it, as the year progresses and our bigs get healthier and more minutes, Luke isn't going to get a look in, and is just an unnecessary body. He doesn't have a future in the NBA, he's Big Baby without the strength and a bit better jumpshot, not exactly a formula for success. We keep Bradley as he is clearly something to develop, back up our point guard and give Rondo better rest going into the playoffs and get a body at the 3 which we are sorely lacking. And the Bobcats are dying to trade players and go into rebuilding mode, and I don't know anywhere else we can get a PG and a Wing for as little as we are giving up here. Others are calling for Baby or Bradley to get traded, I don't think that's sensible considering the positive impact BBD has had on some games (last night at Miami anyone?) and the huge development potential behind Bradley.

JP-

that doesn't give Charlotte enough I don't think, they are a team trying to challenge for a playoff spot, so I don't think they'd give up one of their trusted bench players in Livingston. As for a trade, if we could get Prince or even Rip Hamilton from Detroit that would help out a lot, esp. Prince. We need some help at the small forward spot, we were too thin there to start the year and with injuries to the two guys who can play the position, its only gotten more thin.

SteveB

Any way to get Prince would be the best. If Detroit would buy him out the Celtics could cut Marquis in order to sign Prince. I'm not sure what other restrictions would come into play in this. One of the other sites has a bit of background on this and how much Prince respects the Celtics and Pierce in particular. If we could somehow pick him up and get most of the guys healthy I would be more confident than ever that banner #18 would be coming this year.

Charlotte are looking to rebuild, there's a lot of talk about them trying to trade Wallace and Jackson, and I don't see there being much of a trade off in production between Livingston and Robinson, who has a shorter contract which might be what they are looking for. It also gives them a change of scenery (player wise) which might be just what they're looking for.
McGuire wont be a bad backup 3, and we cant get Prince or Rip their contracts are too big and nobody is going to buy them out. Rip hasn't been effective since the Pistons won a championship either, he's like Ray Allen running around screens, only he does it for mid-range shots, and doesn't make them nearly enough. Tayshaun would be a great addition but again, his cost is way too high.

JP-

How about someone from Cleveland? Jamario Moon, or Joey Graham, they both have the size, not sure on their contracts of ability, I just figure the Cavs will be sellers this year.

Moon is probably best best thing we could get from Cleveland, but he's a bit of a live wire and I dont know if he's worth anything more than Nate and or Luke, and the Cavs are already full of PG's.

moshe

dan might cut us a favor to get back at lebron

nspinozzi18

Michael Pietrus…?

Tos

Great minds…

Tos

I’d like to see them trade for Jared Dudley but I don’t see the suns giving him up. Reaslistically, I could see us trading for mikael pietrus. I’d think we’d have to give up Nate, Avery Bradley and possibly a 2nd round draft pick to get him but he’d certainly help us defensively and he can hit the 3 ball too. Thoughts?

dslack

I like the Pietrus idea, but not this trade.

Avery doesn't bring much to the table (yet) but at least he can dribble (sort of). Can't give up Nate and Avery with Marquis out and Delonte fragile. That leaves the team with zero protection at backup PG if Delonte is injured again.

Yeah, this is our issue, the only players I think we can realistically trade are Nate and Luke. Some say Big Baby too but I think he's too valuable.
Pietrus is a bit of a nutcase some times, he worked well in Orlando because he could just stand in a corner and launch three's, but he's fallen out of favour in Phoenix because of his decision making, and in all honesty he's not a 3, he's a 2, and he struggled guarding Kobe in the Finals a couple of years ago (moreso than Ray, not exactly a Kobe stopper, does), primarily because you need smarts above anything else to guard Kobe, and I cant see him competing with LeBron's size and power.
Dudley would be an even better fit but there's no way he's getting moved.

Scott

i think Pietrus is a great fit. He can play solid defense, and lets not forget that celtics defense changes players. Ray Allen, for example, was not known as a good defender before he came to boston, and now people are calling him the "kobe stopper" …? i think Pietrus will do just fine in this system, and i really think they should trade for him.

Delonte will be back, and can play point guard for Rondo when he goes out. Wafer looks incredible, so he can back up Ray. he is getting to the rim at will, and dont forget about his huge threes in yesterdays game. lets remember that we do not need a major defensive stopper right now. we need someone that can do a decent job while ray and/or paul rest. Thats it.

Trade for pietrus. If DA is relying on MD to be back for the playoffs ready to roll, i'd be shocked. There has to be something in the works… has to be.

John V

Pietrus would be great. The Suns will not give up Dudley unless they're blown away with the offer. I understand they're dying to get rid of Childress. Probably the best way to get Pietrus would be if we could take Childress off their hands, but that's a long-term contract for a bad player. I think even Childress could help, but his contract is horrible.

kricky

If Marquise is really out for the season our need just for a body to put out there is critical. I really love all the players mentioned above (Prince, Pietrus, Moon) but given the financial and roster constraints it's unrealistic to see any of them coming to Boston.

DeShawn Sims is nice. Don't know why he isn't in the League to be honest. He would give us depth at 3, but we had him on our summer league roster and cut him, and haven't showed any interest in him since, so there's obviously something up there.
Stephane Lasme is another name, but I think he's struggled with injuries since going down to the D-League so that would explain any reservations with him too.

Marquis SHOULD be out for the rest of the season, and probably for the rest of his career. Two years in a row, he has crumpled to the floor from very minimal head contact. He clearly has some sort of neurological fragility, and taking care of his life is far more important than winning some games or earning a bigger paycheck. I hope that NBA teams recognize this, even if Marquis does not.

Perry

According to Woj @ Yahoo sports there are rumors that Troy Murphy and Jason Kapono will almost certainly be bought out. Of course neither will excite us or the coaching staff. Word out of Houston is Battier wants to retire as a Rocket and there is that little matter of Yao's contract coming off the books. So Houston can afford to keep Battier happy.

T. Prince is another matter altogether and one would think new ownership won't resign him going into the CBA, but do they have the deep pockets or inclination required to buy out what's left of his $11m contract, and how long can DA wait for a suitable back up to PP who's beginning to show signs of wear and tear?

Most of us knew the backup 3 would be a problem, and as well as Quis performed this year I still believe that spot had to be upgraded going into the playoffs. His contract could be traded similar to Z's last year, but who knows if he would be healthy enough to resign as a Celtic and play again?

Actually the key component may boil down to emergence of Wafer. With Delonte's hybrid skill set, Wafer could replace Nate for instant offense. Von has made great strides defensively, but what's impressed me is his knack for getting to the rim. He has made some heady plays this year whereas it's feast or famine with Nate … and if he's not knocking down jumpers or applying ball pressure he becomes a liability.

I say this with a heavy heart because I admire Nate and watched him grow up when became a member of this organization. But he could be moved for Carl Landry or even Mayo — although OJ's contract runs past 2012. CJ Miles also works in the 'trade machine' with Nate, and possibly could be moved since the Jazz are in disarray. I doubt very much there's any interest in Cleveland's Parker or Moon otherwise they would have been Celtics a long time ago since they always seem to be on the trade market.

kricky

Thanks for the informative post. I love Nate too but he IS expendable. Having him is more of a luxury. A backup to PP is a necessity. If things had kept going as they were before 'Quis' injury he may not have even cracked the regular rotation come playoff time.

Quis has played great for us this year I dont think we need any more depth at 3 if he's going to come back 100%. He does the little things extremely well, and could start on a bunch of NBA teams so he's good enough to give any bench nightmares regardless.
All of these names are nice, but they're 2s and not 3s. We need a quite big, long, solid defensive 3, to defend the eliter players in the playoffs and give Pierce a break, not a scoring 2 (it doesnt really matter how much the backup 3 can score, as long as he can hit an open shot, because our bench is loaded with scorers which will mask it).

And Nate is only expendable if we get another PG in return. Bradley clearly cant take any serious minutes at the moment (or Doc wont give him them anyway) and we cant go into the playoffs with no real backup at 1.
That's why I like the Livingston trade. Gives us a legit backup at 1, getting rid of Nate and his inconsistencies and as a throw in we get a body at 3 who we can develop into a solid defensive player etc. Just gives us breathing space and all we're sacrificing is our must troublesome player and a rookie with no real prospects or more specifically a rookie who is a good player already, but who probably wont ever advance past this and who has absolutely no fit on our current roster.

kricky

West is the backup PG. Nate has shown that he can't play PG (at least not off the bench with the 2nd unit) and is more comfortable and productive at the 2. With Wafer playning better this makes Nate expendable if we end up having to fill Quise spot. Also most any deal would probably have to involve him – what other pieces do other teams really want? JO. Gody? I'd rather keep Erden and Bradley for the future.

Celtics would have to take on two more years of Jackson's contract after this one, which extends one year beyond that of PP, Ray and KG, but if Danny and ownership were willing to do this, S-Jack would be perfect. Great, proud defender against elite 2's and 3's such as D-Wade, Lebron, and Kobe; can hit the three and post up. He would be perfect coming off the bench.

Charlotte would have to be eager to shed the long-term salary (they would save about $8 million in year three), like Nate or the offer may have to be sweetened with a 1st or a young player they covet such as Luke,Semih, or Avery. But if Celtics are agreeable to take on that third year and Charlotte looks to drop salary, S-Jack really would make us unstoppable. Imagine how much easier yesterday's game would be if Doc could sit PP when he struggles.

Jay P

How does that reduce Charlotte's payroll?

Both JO and Nate have years left on their contract. At least they have a useful player right now in Jackson, why would they trade that out for two dead-weight contracts that doesn't save them any money next year?

There is not a chance in hell the Celtics pick up S-Jax. He's crazy! He would never accept coming off the bench or buy into the Celtics "me before team" attitude, it would be a hellish marriage for both parties! No way!

If we had Quis guarding Livingston, Rondo would have had to guard Gerald Henderson, who would have been even more of a matchup nightmare. Thats what Livingston does to teams, very few have a PG big enough to guard, him and if we also have a strong 2 off the bench they cant switch anyone too, so he can just kill other teams bench PG.

Grant Hill is going to retire in Phoenix, I think thats pretty much accepted. Apparently he was given a chance to join Boston this offseason but didnt want to leave PHX.

And if we trade Nate I think we need to get a PG back, and to add to that, I cant think of any teams who would be wiling to trade what is essentially an undersized 2 guard for a defensive 3/wing…

Perry

Quis' length could have made a diffcult but Livington was shooting lights out. Still he is not the defensive minded player we need to replace Quis.

Quis could have D'd him up but then there would be nobody to play PG, that was my point, Doc clearly isn't cool letting Quis do it for extended periods so there was no choice but to play Rondo on him.

Livingston doesn't replace Quis, he replaces Nate.. We get Dominic McGuire to cover us at 3 as a throw in in the deal. Nate is becoming a problem for us and getting a decent PG like Livingston would be a great addition. Our bench could be more chilled and be a lot more lik the first unit instead of a bunch of good players who either kill other team's benches or die a death themselves. A solid floor general who can literally see above rival PG's would be a huge addition.
He's a good defender too, and his length above all means he can cause other PGs nightmates, combine that with it being other BENCH PGs and that could be the thing that puts us over. Imagine not crapping our pants when Rondo goes out because instead of shooting terrible contested 3s, he can take Rondo's lead and bring the ball up calmly and cherry pick above other defenders and give our bench much cleaner looks and hold the fort until the starters are good to go.

McGuire seems like a decent body, I'm sure we can turn him into a decent defender, we have enough firepower on our bench to not need him to put up any huge scoring numbers either.

Just seems like a nice trade for us. I can't see us getting any worse from it, and assuming Livingston is on the way back up, he could be a great investment for us.

Henderson is 6'5 and a lot more solid than Livingston, either of them would (and did) cause Rondo problems they're both nearly half a foot taller than him! Just imagine how good it would be for us to have that advantage over other teams. Livingston could dominate smaller PGs like Nelson, Fisher, Blake, Arroyo, with his size.

Perry

Great trade from our perspective, but it significantly reduces Charlotte's chances at sniffing the playoffs. Currently they are two games off the 8th seed and could use the revenue in the first round … although they would be crushed by Celtics or Heat even if MJ suits up.

JO may simply retire, and if he does I believe his salary stays on the books even if he is bought out in the same context as Sheed was.

DA went out of his of way to keep 2012-13 as clean as possible. AB is a team option, and assuming Perk is resigned for $7m/, and BB is somehow given a raise this off season, Jackson's last year at 10.5m poses a problem.

I'd settle for Diaw who comes off after the 11'-12' season. You want to be as salary free as possible after KG comes off the books because that is the same time Superman flys out of Orlando. But my guess is his next stop is LA. It was for Wilt, Kareem and Shaq … all centers.

Posey for JOneil+Luke+#1 its that simple-Shoots three can guard 2-3-4 and knows the system plus has big balls at cruncDoc loves him and time. Can check King James +Garter snake+A phenomenal helpside defender.

Have you seen Posey play ball recently?! He's done! He was on the downwards slide when we had him, add three years to that! His shooting was never that good so he cant even be a simple D & 3 guy, and is too slow to do anything else now. I don't think he could stick around with the LeBron's etc anymore.

lockdog

limited minutes like always with great help defense nobody has to totally stick with LeBron. We trapped a bunch of possesions Sunday anyway. He is available.15- 18 minutes a game problem solved. Remember we never counted on his offens only rebounding ansticky D.

You cant send anyone who's been in the league over 3 years to the D-League, and players sent to the D-League still count as being on the NBA teams roster so doesn't clear any space anyway.

jeff

i don`t know how the dleagie system works but avery was by far the best player when he was down there no one on the redclaws plays any defense everyone just pulls up and jacks up three pointers if the celtics are looking for a player in the D league please be smart and don`t limit the choices to the C`s affiliate as the Maine Red Claws are horrible

This trade might help the Celtics… and actually be one that interests the other team.

The Celtics get Howard, who just came back from injury — a pretty crafty, talented vet with nice stroke, plus an extra roster spot. Howard is more likely to be a contributor down the stretch than Howard. The Wizards save a little money in a pitiful season and get to take a flyer on a legitimately-sized big man, Erden.

The Celtics get Howard, who just came back from injury — a pretty crafty, talented vet with a nice stroke, plus an extra roster spot. Howard is more likely to be a contributor down the stretch than Daniels. The Wizards save a little money in a pitiful season and get to take a flyer on a legitimately-sized big man, Erden.

We've been looking at Howard for a while, but I think his injuries and attitude have kept us away. He's been extremely limited since he returned from injury this season, so I dont see us going for him any time soon.

Tubers

What about Quis and J.O. and maybe a second rounder to the pacers for Posey and Solomon jones. i like this for a couple reasons:
1) Posey and jones both have expiring contracts
2) Posey would fit in with our team right away because he's already tight with everyone. He would provide a great backup to play 10-15 min per game to give paul a break. He can hit the 3, defend the 3, and is a good ft shooter. He can also play the stretch 4 which could be useful against the Magic (Ryan anderson) and the Heat if they go with a small lineup
3) Solomon Jones is another big body that has height that we can throw in to foul people and get some boards
4) The pacers aren't giving jones or posey playing time and are looking to rebuild. O'neal wants to retire as a Pacer and hes always been a fan favorite, ticket sales would increase (if ticket increasing is possible in Indiana) and he would be a good backup to Hibbert and he could help him out. Quis would be an expiring contract and they are looking to rebuild anyway which is why we could throw in a second rounder.
5) Bird could help his former team out a little bit

lockdog

absolutely right about Posey Championship in the bag

NHBluesMan

could we do anything to get Stephen Lasme up from the D-League? The guy is lanky, could play the 3 or 4, and has alot of energy… just a thought

thats right, forgot about that. I loved his skills during the preseason though, the guy could ball

John V

I don't think Posey has anything left in the tank.

As of Feb 18, the Suns will be allowed to trade Pietrus in combination with other players. At that point, a trade of JO, Daniels, and Bradley for Childress and Pietrus would work, and it's virtually guaranteed Phoenix would do it to get out from under Childress's horrible contract. Of course, we don't want Childress's contract either, and that's exactly the point Brian spent several paragraphs making, above. 🙂

Still. I really don't expect to get anything out of the guys I'm talking about trading, and I think we could get some serious contributions from the guys we get back. I understand the owners won't want to pay Childress all that money, and of course they should look for better deals… but from a "win this year" perspective, a trade like this makes a lot of sense.

First trade isn't bad, but no way denver gives up JR and Afflalo, and I dont think the Celtics could deal with JR. It's also giving up Bradley which I think Danny is against.
The second trade would never happen, Portland are pushing for a playoff spot and Matthews and Batum are two of their most promising players. They're effectively getting nothing in return for them.

Mike

I think they might be willing to deal Afflalo since its his final year of contract and he could be our balanced defender of the bench capable of scoring too and JR would come in a package and he would solve our scoring issues. Maybe some picks would sweeten the deal. Posey would serve as a player that could play a lot of positions and would be very useful regardless of his current skills.
The second deal I agree they would nuts, but it would be very sweet if they agreed to it =P.

None of those are likely to happen though, and I doubt we even make a trade.

Guest

Trading Jermaine is not an option. I know it's easy to forget but we need him for the post season. Shaq and Perk can get in foul trouble oh-so easily.

Guys we can be willing to trade:
Robinson
Daniels
Any of the Rookies (Bradley > Erden > Harrengody in terms of value) [Rather not get rid of the first two]

Remember as far as paperwork goes, technically Rasheed Wallace can un-retire adding about 6 million to the Celtics salary, allowing them to take back that amount in a trade. Rasheed would then re-retire for the new team saving them money. By that I mean Celtics Player A makes 1 million = Sheeds 6 million can be traded for Player B making 7 million.http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId…

Let me explain the entire trade. This one does not in fact require Wallace's contract.

New York is looking for some depth at the point, and they discussed trading for Aaron Brooks last week. Minnesota was also looking to move Brewer to free up time at the wings for their other young players, and to get Anthony Randolph in the process.

Houston is probably not getting to the post season. So they get rid of Brooks who they would have to pay in the off season, and Battier. They would get in return Nate Robinson whose game is at least similar to Brooks in that they are undersized scoring guards, as well as Brewer another young wing. Now, they have plenty of young wings but all of them are valuable draft day trading pieces. The Celtics might need to throw in a second round pick here. Robinson is more beneficial to them than Brooks because he is already making 4mill next year and Brooks will need a new contract definitely more expensive than Nate's.

New York would only do this if the Carmelo trade doesn't involve Randolph. And it's looking likely that the Nuggets might make a run for the post season and New York would make a run of their own, looking to get Melo in the offseason where they wouldn't have to give up so many of their assets. So for this year NY unloads Randolph and gets the depth they're looking for at the point guard position to try and maybe grab an upset in the first round of the playoffs.

Minnesota gives up Brewer freeing up room for their young wings to get more minutes and gets a high potential big man to see how he plays alongside Kevin Love. They would also get Daniels as a guy that just comes off the books after the season (sorry quis, we'll miss you. stay warm).

Our PG depth is only Rondo and Delonte but as the article points out Rondo just needs a few minutes break.
SF would be Pierce and Battier.
SG Ray and occasionally Delonte, Wafer if he continues to play well. Or, we could rotate just Pierce, Ray and Battier at the wing positions, sometimes trotting out Pierce at the 2 alongside Shane.
Bradley comes in and covers SGs and PGs in a pinch.

What team is getting a raw end of this deal? Admittedly Houston might be able to get more for Battier elsewhere but Nate, Brewer and 2nd is a pretty good return. NY gets their 3pt shooting PG and gives up a guy they don't use anyway while not locking up money for their Melo free agency run in the offseason. Minnesota does exactly the trade they are willing to do in the Melo deal for the same reasons. The Celtics get their perfect backup 3 in a great defender who can shoot the three and is a veteran who has the best chance as fitting in here quickly…

I like that trade, but I just cant see it happening. Minnesota pretty much get screwed, although they seem accustomed to that now. This would work if they were over the cap but they aren't so taking Quis doesn't make any sense to them.

Houston are essentially getting Nate and Brewer, too very inconsistent and somewhat stupid guards, for Battier and Brooks, who are both an upgrade. Cant see it happening.

Something like this is what I picture a trade ending up as though. Houston want rid of Brooks, and he wants to go to and fits in to New York, and we end up with Battier.

Leon is coming off another surgery but when healthy we know what he can do for a team I loved him whenever he was here and Parker 6-6 210lbs and has a good 3ball.

Im not sure the cavs would bite, if they dont maybe add semih or luke

NHBluesMan

the trade didn't show up, just a blank trade machine page. Care to repost?

skeeds

Are we sure Marquis is so unlikely to return? I'm not saying he should push things, or be pushed by the C's, but if he is likely to return in full form within the season, then he should be given the chance.
To be realistic, even in the off-chance someone wants to trade a player that could make an impact, (such as Battier), I don't see what the C's have to trade for exchange. Nate is the only chip really, no one wants rookies with minimal playing time, not a team aiming for a playoff spot, for sure.

If it's a matter of healing time for Daniels, then I'd rather see Doc play a freak backcourt of Nate(PG), Wafer(SG), Delonte(SF), on defence, and Delonte(PG), Nate(SG) and Wafer(SF) on offence. It doesn't sound that bad.

Doc said Quis isn't coming back "any time soon". Which probably means this year. Even if he does come back, it might be like after he returned from injury last season and was just timid and ineffective so we need to plan like he's out regardless.
And Delonte cant play SF, he's almost too small to play SG… Wafer is also too small to play SF. SF doesn't require height so much as it requires length, strength and bulk. Wafer and Delonte are too small built to guard SFs.

The Bucks have no one who can back up Bogut and have a logjam at the wing with Salmons, Maggette, Delfino & Mbah a Moute, they could afford to loose CDR and his contract works just fine!!!
He also can be instant offence and plays pretty good D against elite 2 & 3's.

I think Danny is against trading Semih, and thats probably a good idea. And CDR has been madly ineffective this season (25% from the field over the last 10 games!). He's been getting less minutes than Maggette who is also having a terrible season which says something!

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